its own powers over the people.
How is it possible that juries can do anything to protect the liberties
of the people against the government, if they are not allowed to
determine what those liberties are?_

Any government, that is its own judge of, and determines authoritatively
for the people, what are its own powers over the people, is an absolute
government of course. It has all the powers that it chooses to exercise.
There is no other--or at least no more accurate--definition of a
despotism than this.

On the other hand, any people, that judge of, and determine
authoritatively for the government, what are their own liberties against
the government, of course retain all the liberties they wish to enjoy.
_And this is freedom._ At least, it is freedom _to them_; because,
although it may be theoretically imperfect, it, nevertheless,
corresponds to _their_ highest notions of freedom.

To secure this right of the people to judge of their own liberties
against the government, the jurors are taken, (or must be, to make them
lawful jurors,) from the body of the people, _by lot_, or by some
process that precludes any previous knowledge, choice, or selection of
them, on the part of the government. This is done to prevent the
government's constituting a jury of its own partisans or friends; in
other words, to prevent the government's _packing_ a jury, with a view
to maintain its own laws, and accomplish its own purposes.

It is supposed that, if twelve men be taken, _by lot_, from the mass of
the people, without the possibility of any previous knowledge, choice,
or selection of them, on the part of the government, the jury will be a
fair epitome of "the country" at large, and not merely of the party or
faction that sustain the measures of the government; that substantially
all classes of opinions, prevailing among the people, will be
represented in the jury; and especially that the opponents of the
government, (if the government have any opponents,) will be represented
there, as well as its friends; that the classes, who are oppressed by
the laws of the government, (if any are thus oppressed,) will have their
representatives in the jury, as well as those classes, who take sides
with the oppressor--that is, with the government.

It is fairly presumable that such a tribunal will agree to no conviction
except such as _substantially the whole country_ would agree to, if they
were present, taking part in the trial. A trial by